The People in Your Neighborhood
"The People in Your Neighborhood" has been performed on Sesame Street many times, sung by many different characters. The song focuses on occupations, with each variation focusing on different jobholders (usually portrayed by Anything Muppets). Bob originated the song and performed the majority of versions on the show. Occasionally, it has been performed by other members of the human cast, such as David, Maria, or Olivia. Every so often, a variation would be performed by Muppet characters such as Ernie or Placido Flamingo. The version heard on most albums is the postman and firefighter version. Bob also sang this song with celebrities such as Martina Navratilova, Barbara Walters and Ralph Nader in The Sesame Street Special, as well as in episode 4031. The song was also performed in the Sesame Street Live shows A Sesame Street Mystery: The Case of the Missing Rara Avis and Elmo Makes Music. Versions The CTW Archives also list these versions: Non-Muppet performances *The red band trailer for the 2014 film Neighbors opened with a slow a cappella version of the song. *Bob McGrath performed this on Bob's Favorite Street Songs, with a Dixieland band replacing professions, and Bob explaining the instruments within it. Notes * When Ralph Nader performed the song with Bob during his special guest appearance in The Sesame Street Special, Nader insisted on singing the grammatically correct "the people whom you meet each day", rather than the original "the people that you meet each day." The producers agreed to this change, but in the end the original lyric was used.Borgelnict, David Sesame Street Unpaved page 150 * Lyrics to this song were included in The Sesame Street Book & Record, The Sesame Street Song Book, ''Sesame Street Unpaved'' and The Sesame Street Book of People and Things. * Following Jeff Moss's death, Joey Mazzarino has written some of the newer verses. * This song was once referenced in The Electric Company. When Big Bird visits Fargo North and gets help translating his scrambled message, he then asks Fargo how to get to Sesame Street. Fargo tells him to find a bus driver, to which Big Bird answers "I know the bus driver. He's a person in my neighborhood." Variations *Ernie once sang a variation of this song entitled "The Insects In Your Neighborhood." Placido Flamingo sang a similar variation in Episode 2754. * Placido Flamingo also sang another variation of this song, "The Bugs in Your Neighborhood," along with Bob in a spider outfit and a Muppet bumble bee (Camille Bonora). * In a street scene from season 29, Big Bird gives a tour of the street to a family potentially moving in. He sings a variation of the song, naming the different "Places in Our Neighborhood." *In an episode from season 30, Bob sang a variation of this song about the letter Z being "A Letter in your Alphabet." *"The Computers in Your Neighborhood" was sung by Elmo, which was released on video as Computer Caper. The song asks where computers can be found, and Elmo learns from Farley and Mrs. Turow that they are in libraries and schools. *On the program Let's Get Ready!, a dalmatian sings a variation called "Who Helps You When There's an Emergency?" to Grover and Rosita, backed by some kids off-camera. They sing about the work of the teacher, the fireman, and the doctor. *The song was incorporated in a Sesame medley at the 2009 Daytime Emmy Awards, where the cast sings about Soap opera actors, cooking show hosts, talk show hosts and game show hosts. *At the Jim Henson's Musical World concert, Bob and the Sesame Street cast sang the song which featured a new verse about the conductor. *Murray Monster and Ovejita find people in the neighborhood in a series of tune-ins in season 43. Murray sings a rap tune inspired by the titular song, while the original song appears as background music during the segments. Releases ;Audio *''The Sesame Street Book & Record'' (1970) *People in Your Neighborhood/Somebody Come and Play (single, 1970) (includes two extra verses, with a garbage man and a grocer) * 60 Favorite Songs from Sesame Street (1975) * 25 Greatest Hits (1975) *Five People in My Family/People in Your Neighborhood (single, 1976) *''What Time Is It on Sesame Street?'' (1977) *''The People in Your Neighborhood'' (1980) *''Platinum All-Time Favorites'' (1995) ;Publications *''Sesame Street Songbook Vol. 1'' *''The Sesame Street Songbook'' (1971, 1992 and 2007 editions) *''Songs of Sesame Street'' (1977) See also *People in Your Neighborhood (book) Sources People in Your Neighborhood